


Lapis Lazuli

by ichikonohakko



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Angst, F/M, M/M, Polyamory Relationship, the future is not as they both think it is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-17
Updated: 2016-06-17
Packaged: 2018-07-15 16:24:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7229866
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ichikonohakko/pseuds/ichikonohakko
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Time stood still as seagulls cry above them, small waves rolled in and wet a little piece of his jeans. But it certainly didn’t wet his cheek. It was… good to finally hear those words coming from the person he didn’t know he’d been wanting to hear that from. One of the biggest lies that ever came from Kuroko Tetsuya’s lips were the words ‘I don’t think of Aomine-kun that way’ spoken during his middle and high school years. Right now, Tetsuya honestly felt relief.</p>
<p>Written for AoKuro day 15/6/2016</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lapis Lazuli

**Author's Note:**

> A little birthday present I wrote for myself :) A super self-indulgent AoKuro but not really AoKuro story
> 
> Inspired by this http://newerakaze.tumblr.com/post/145959938081/615-i-would-like-to-do-anything-to-protect

The train goes in a constant speed, its vibration lulling everyone inside into a sleepy disposition. It wasn’t crowded, nor was it empty, it was filled with people who had nothing to do to one another. Some smiled at their phone, reminded of things that made them happy and others elected to watch the rising sun from their window. The earliest train of Sunday is a sleepy hollow, but not to the two men sitting next to the door.

One is huge, and the other is small. They too, shared the same sleepiness as the others in the train, the smaller one had been staring at the same spot of the book he had been reading while the bigger man leaned towards the nearby pole. Not sleeping, but close. Their fingers blissfully brushed one another, and no one paid it any heed. Where are these two going?

_Somewhere far away._ Or so the bigger man had hoped, but he saw the black piercing on his partner’s left ear and was reminded of the reality. His phone vibrated twice and as he saw the sender’s name, he too, was reminded of his own reality.

_From: Satsuki_

_To: Aomine Daiki_

_Subject: 15/6_

_Will be going with Daichi to amusement park in Tokyo, Ki-chan will be with me. I love you, Dai-chan._

_-Aomine Satsuki_

He paid it no heed, he could always reply it later. He’d also need to send a thank-you message to Kise, who despite being a part-time model and full-time pilot, still managed to have time to hang out with Satsuki and Daichi. He’d never admit it, but Kise was the closest thing he had to a best friend, one that had no other meanings behind the kanji used to write those words. He and Kise are best friends, full stop, nothing else is there.

(Unlike the _other_ person he considered his best friend, apparently. Because sometimes it wasn’t friendship that he wanted, no, not at all, even after all this time.)

The dark skies have subsided, making way to a clear blue sky with no cloud in sight. A day of clear blue skies, one so clear it might as well mock him and remind him of the distant past where he could have had it all. He didn’t understand foreign songs and that is why he didn’t like it (unless they are Hip Hop or RnB where the lyrics are pretty much intelligible in the first place) very much, but he secretly had Adele’s _Rolling in the Deep_ tucked somewhere in his smartphone library and he played it every time he wanted to indulge himself.

(Satsuki knew, he knew that Satsuki knew, but she kept her silence and her lips curved into a smile that did not reach her eyes. _It’s okay, Dai-chan, it’s alright_. Sometimes he really feel like he didn’t deserve her.)

Navy irises couldn’t help but steal a glance (or three) at the figure next to him. Baby blue hair and striking azure eyes, Tetsu would look _great_ in his color (not that Tetsu isn’t great-looking or anything, but he’d be even _better_ ). Pale and slender and unblemished, Tetsu has been his personal definition of beauty ever since the day he swore to be a shadow. The bigger man averted his gaze from the blatant placement of two kiss marks along the side of Tetsu’s neck, angry and red—a reminder for him and for everyone who dare to lay eyes on Kuroko Tetsuya—that he _belonged_ to someone.

Just as Tetsu was there for his wedding with Satsuki, he was also there when Tetsu moved in with Kagami and Ogiwara. It was an odd concept, one so foreign in his mind, _to be in love with more than one person_ , and yet it worked for them. Midorima had explained to him once, and Akashi had simplified it for him. _Polyamory_ , Akashi had said as he helped carry a box of Tetsu’s belonging, _is a very real and valid orientation to have. In which you love and be loved by two or more people equally without any sort of jealousy involved within._

Daiki never understood it, and he never wanted to understand it; that had been part of the reason why he decided to belch his proposal to Satsuki during a reunion basketball game at the very same year. He’d rather be with Satsuki than confront something else altogether. But still…

(If this _polyamory_ thing is real, then he shouldn’t be feeling so guilty about loving Satsuki and Tetsu at the same time. So Daiki concluded that everything was a complete and utter bullcrap.)

Daiki had stood by Tetsu’s side for as long as he could remember. After their falling out in Teikou and their reconciliation in high school, they were pretty much back into being ‘best friends’ with one another. He was the first person Tetsu told about his relationship with Kagami, and was the first person who texted Kagami a two-page long warning if he ever did stupid shit to Tetsu. Daiki was also there when they graduated Seirin and went over to Kamii Uni, where an anomaly named Ogiwara Shigehiro waltzed into their lives and took the duo’s heart with him.

It was obvious from the gestures that Ogiwara and Tetsu had whenever they are within ten meter radius of one another that they are _more_ than just childhood friends; Daiki even confronted Kagami about it once. And Kagami (the idiot) said that he didn’t mind. Then at some strange twist of fate, Ogiwara fell for Kagami the same way he had fallen for Tetsu on their childhood days and Kagami was wooed by Ogiwara’s presence as much as he was by Tetsu’s.

Satsuki had once remarked, casually, that nowadays she couldn’t remember how things were when it was just Tetsu and Kagami. And Murasakibara, the person who Daiki thought would _at least_ share an opinion with him, had concurred with her statement. Daiki remembered being the only person in the room who felt like nothing made sense. In that sense, Daiki could never remember how things were between him and Satsuki before Tetsu slip quietly into their lives. It was once just him and Satsuki, then there was Tetsu, and somewhere along the way Kise had joined in too. But really, Daiki couldn’t remember his life before Tetsu very well. He was always there, even when the mere thought of him made Daiki’s heart pang with sadness.

The train’s stop seemed so very sudden. Startled, Daiki found himself nearly falling to his side before warm fingers held onto his wrists and pulled him back.

“Are you okay, Daiki-kun?”

Heh, how many years had it take just so Tetsu would call him by his first name?

“Yeah, I’m fine. Let’s go, this is our stop.”

The skies are clear blue and the breeze smelled like the ocean. Clad in blue shirts, two men walked away from the sleepy morning train with their hands intertwined.

* * *

 

The morning breeze, though pleasant, felt foreign in his skin. He usually worked indoors, after all. The smell of ocean was ever-present in a town that was about to rose for Sunday morning. They walked around town, and he smiled a small smile when he faintly heard the fishermen shouting today’s offer at the fish market nearby. Living in an apartment, it was nearly impossible to hear such things anymore, and Tetsuya is glad that Daiki-kun had brought him here.

He really didn’t know where they will go. Daiki-kun had barged inside his apartment, not even waking Kagami-kun and Ogiwara-kun who were literally sleeping on top of one another in the living room after a late gaming night, and asked him if he had any plans today. When he said no, Daiki-kun shoved him a pair of dark jeans and a blue shirt he had yanked from Tetsuya’s wardrobe. This didn’t happen often, but it wasn’t the first time his middle school friends decide to have a sudden excursion (at least Daiki-kun still had the decency to ask him if he had plans or not, a few months ago Akashi-kun just… kidnapped them in their sleep. He had woken up to Kagami-kun’s tenth phone call asking him where he went since morning), so Tetsuya wasn’t really worried, but…

This seemed… _more_ than just a simple excursion, seen from the fact that Satsuki-san did not text him beforehand. She always texted him for most things, after all. This was… (dare he say it?) _private_. Like Daiki-kun was trying to say something without words. Tetsuya didn’t mind being dragged from his bed to a nameless rural town just next to the ocean, really, but he obviously wanted to know _why_.

Daiki-kun hadn’t let go of his hands since Tetsuya held them on the train, but again, Tetsuya didn’t mind. Daiki-kun walked a few steps in front of him, leading him by the hand. The skies are clear and it was the bluest of blue. He was honestly reminded of another day with clear blue skies, but he shook his head. No. _No_.

_We moved on_.

The ocean is vast and blue and it glittered under the sun. Tetsuya smiled, it felt… nice. The breeze felt good on his skin and Daiki-kun was still in front of him, panting.

After what seemed to be an eternity, the policeman let go of his hand and proceeded to take off his shoes and roll his jeans upwards. There were no words, but Tetsuya did the same. The sand felt pleasant under his feet and he was the first to run into the sea.

It felt warm, his feet and his heart. Tetsuya turned to his best friend and smiled. “Is there something you wish to tell me, Daiki-kun?” They had been together since middle school, since what Tetsuya could only describe as a fated meeting. Aomine Daiki, the brightest light of all, meeting a shadow hidden under the vast sea of lights. If it weren’t for his meeting with Daiki-kun, he wouldn’t have met with everyone else. If he hadn’t met everyone else, he wouldn’t have experienced something that changed his views about sports and victory. If he hadn’t change his views, he wouldn’t have gone to Seirin and meet Kagami-kun. If he hadn’t met Kagami-kun, he’d never be able to enjoy the love given to him by his true light and childhood friend.

In a way, Aomine Daiki was the very reason why Kuroko Tetsuya is here, alive and happy.

Daiki-kun looked at him, expression tight with anguish. Tetsuya saw regret, anger, sadness, _guilt_ on his best friend’s face and waited. It reminded him of a certain rainy day, but he clenched his fists and kept his smile. This was different. They are happy now. Tetsuya with Kagami-kun and Ogiwara-kun and Daiki-kun with Satsuki-san and their beautiful son Daichi-kun. And yet…

“Tetsu, I-“ the words halted, but Tetsuya kept his silence. No, he shouldn’t intervene. Daiki-kun is trying his best to weave the words, and god knows how his best friend is bad at that. There’s a reason why Tetsuya had been assigned as Daiki-kun’s personal tutor for Japanese lessons.

The skies are blue and the breeze is gentle, Aomine Daiki is clad in warm colors of blue, the same shade as their previous Teikou uniform. A single tear shed on his face and a resigned expression on his face. “Tetsu…” he called, pouring a thousand emotion and memories into his next words. “I love you.”

Time stood still as seagulls cry above them, small waves rolled in and wet a little piece of his jeans. But it certainly didn’t wet his cheek. It was… _good_ to finally hear those words coming from the person he didn’t know he’d been wanting to hear that from. One of the biggest lies that ever came from Kuroko Tetsuya’s lips were the words ‘I don’t think of Aomine-kun that way’ spoken during his middle and high school years. Right now, Tetsuya honestly felt _relief_.

Tears leaked from his eyes, wordless, soundless, sad and happy. And he could see his best friend sporting the same tears. It looked more painful for Daiki-kun than it was for him. He knew why. He knew how all this time his best friend had been feeling guilty for harboring such feelings. Tetsuya had no doubt that if given the choice between him and his family, Daiki-kun would choose his family through and through. Satsuki-san had loved him his entire life, to the point that Tetsuya think that Daiki-kun wouldn’t be able to function without it, and Daichi-kun had been the man’s pride and joy. And yet still…

_Somewhere inside you, you’re still in love with Aomine, right?_ He remembered Ogiwara-kun saying in a lazy afternoon, Tetsuya had been shocked. _It’s not like Kagami and I don’t notice, Kuroko. It’s okay to love him, but just remember that your home is here, with me and Kagami._ Just like how Daiki-kun’s home is with Satsuki-san, Tetsuya already had his own home.

Tetsuya didn’t wipe his tears. He opened his arms and smiled his best smile. “Thank you, Aomine-kun!” He would have loved to hear that in his middle school years. He— _they_ could have a home together, with one another, but fate didn’t go that way. Life went on and both Kuroko Tetsuya and Aomine Daiki had find a home with somebody else.

Daiki-kun ran to him, enveloping him in a bone-crushing hug as the other hissed something. Tetsuya knew. Tetsuya _knew_.

“I love you, Tetsu.” There was a discord in his voice, one full of unsaid things that must have been lost into his forgotten dreams. “But I…” it wasn’t finished, he didn’t finish it and he didn’t need to finish it. Tetsuya knew the continuation and he also knew the answer. The other man hugged him back, a gentle squeeze and then they both let go of one another.

“I will always love you, Daiki.” Tetsuya whispered, a rare smile gracing his face as he never felt so happy. “You changed my life for the better, I will never not love you.” It wasn’t the burning passion of want and need he felt for Kagami-kun, nor was it the absolute need to cherish and the infinite longing he had for Ogiwara-kun. It was something else. It was… _trust_. Tetsuya had always trusted that Aomine Daiki will always be by his side, no matter what. And the feeling was so strong that it might just be what people call _love_.

_Stay. Stay by my side_. _Stay by my side forever._

“I can’t really imagine life without you, Tetsu.” Daiki noted casually as they stare into the horizon. “Me too, Daiki, really.” They didn’t hold hands, they don’t even look at each other, but they both knew that the other will always be there.

Silence fell between the two, an amicable and comfortable one, but silence nonetheless. The sound of rolling waves reminded Tetsuya of the two boys who had decided to drift apart from one another. But this time, as he stared beyond the horizon, Tetsuya saw two boys in summer uniform of Teikou Middle School running around with their fingers intertwined intimately and their smiles brighter than the sun. Tetsuya turned his back to them with a smile.

He had finally moved on.

And looking at the serene expression Tetsuya rarely ever saw on his best friend’s face, Daiki must have moved on, as well.


End file.
